The Hurricanes, who improved to 2-3 on the year, rallied twice. The first came after the Chargers ran the opening kickoff back 95 yards, then again after the visitors had erased a 35-14 deficit and taken a 43-42 lead with just 1:49 left.

On the ensuing kickoff, Moore raced 43 yards to set the Hurricanes up at the Chargers’ 37-yard line. The Hurricanes suffered a sack, but still moved to the 21-yard-line, where quarterback NaQuan Gibbs fired a bullet into the end zone toward Moore. Two defenders converged and each got a hand on the ball, but Moore kept his eyes on the pass as he made two steps and hauled it while maintaining his feet near the end zone sideline.

D.J. Lewis, who earlier caught a 34-yard touchdown pass, sealed the win with an interception at Pamlico’s 35-yard line in the final seconds.

Gibbs had quite the night, throwing four TD passes and scoring on runs of six and 67 yards. He rushed 20 times for 135 of the Hurricanes’ 264 ground yards and was 8-for-14 passing for another 165 yards.

Gibbs said the Hurricanes kept their poise as they watched a 35-14 lead evaporate into a 43-42 deficit.

“On the sidelines, we just told everybody to keep their head up because the game wasn’t over,” he said afterwards. “We play four quarters of football, not just two.”

He praised Moore for his concentration on the winning pass.

“I saw he was wide open in the end zone and then the defenders came over and it fell in his hands,” Gibbs said.

On his 67-yard sprint up the middle for a score that gave the Hurricanes their biggest lead at 35-14, Gibbs outran two defenders who got within a foot or so of the back of his jersey.

“I just run. I don’t look back, just looking at the end zone,” he said.

First-year coach Kevin Yost led a spirited post-game talk and dance under the goal posts on the east end of the stadium.

“That was a tale of two halves,” Yost said of the 21-7 Pamlico halftime lead and the Chargers’ 36-28 second-half outburst. “But, when you’ve got more numbers on your side of the score column, a win is a win. That’s the message tonight. We talked about adversity and overcoming adversity. Our character showed tonight. That’s a good team over there. It was a battle. It was just an exciting night.”

Another key to the victory was the accurate foot of kicker Ignacio Lugo-Pichardo, who was true on all seven of his point after tries.

The Hurricanes overcame a four-touchdown performance by the Chargers’ Drew Turnage, which included the 95-yard kickoff TD, along with scoring runs of 52, eight and two yards.

Pamlico led 21-7 at the half on the strength of three Gibbs TD passes - a 55-yarder to William Becton; a 34-yard diving catch by Lewis and a nine-yard toss to Moore.

After Gibbs ran 6 yards for a score with 10:09 left in the third quarter, the Hurricanes seemed to be pulling away, 28-7. But, Turnage raced 52 yards up the middle to cut the lead in half.

Then Gibbs bolted 67 yards, also up the middle and the Hurricanes again seemed safely ahead, 35-14.

However, the Hurricanes lost two fumbles deep in their own territory, leading to short, quick scores by the Chargers, who pulled to within 35-27 after a missed two-point run.

The Chargers then scored on a Rodney Nelson 5-yard run and he added the two-pointer to tie it at 35 with 19 second left in the third period.

Pamlico surged ahead again, going 74 yards in 14 plays, including a fourth-down run by Gibbs, culminating with a 25-yard scoring strike into the end zone to Josiah Simmons. Simmons had two other catches, including a 28-yarder during the drive, which put Pamlico up 42-35 at the 5:36 mark of the game.

Turnage returned the kickoff 65 yards to the Pamlico 30, setting up the go-ahead score, his own 2-yard run. Nelson ran off tackle to put the Chargers ahead 43-42, setting up Pamlico’s final heroics.

Defensively, Connor Hough had 8 tackles and an assist for the Hurricanes; Arthur Randall had 7 tackles and Treyvan Respers recorded a sack.

Pamlico will next travel to Dixon Friday night.

Box:

Ayden-Grifton 7 0 28 8 - 43

Pamlico 7 14 14 14 - 49

First Quarter

AG – Drew Turnage 95 kickoff return (PAT kick)

PC – William Becton 55 pass from Na’Quan Gibbs (Lugo-Pichardo kick)

Second Quarter

PC – D.J. Lewis 34 pass from Na’Quan Gibbs (Lugo-Pichardo kick)

PC – Camerson Moore 9 pass from Na’Quan Gibbs (Lugo-Pichardo kick)

Third Quarter

PC - Na’Quan Gibbs 6 run (Lugo-Pichardo kick)

AG – Drew Turnage 52 run (PAT kick)

PC - Na’Quan Gibbs 67 run ((Lugo-Pichardo kick)

AG – Rodney Nelson 1 run (PAT kick)

AG – Drew Turnage 8 run (PAT failed)

AG – Rodney Nelson 5 run (Nelson PAT run)

Fourth Quarter

PC – Josiah Simmons 25 pass from Na’Quan Gibbs (Lugo-Pichardo kick)

AG – Drew Turnage 2 run (Rodney Nelson PAT run)

PC – Cameron Moore 21 pass from Na’Quan Gibbs (Lugo-Pichardo kick)

Charlie Hall can be reached at 252-635-5667 or Charlie.hall@Newbernsj.com